Saturday, 30 August 2014

I'm so glad that brows are currently having a bit of a renaissance. I've always had an obsession with them & must have spent loads on tools, regrowth products & cosmetics for those two furry lines. Admittedly I've always been into high-end brow products because drugstore brands never seemed to realise that not everyone has really dark warm toned eyebrows. During my teenage goth phase I used to draw on my eyebrows with a black Rimmel eyeliner. It was not a good look, especially when the pencil started to smudge! There just weren't many other options in Boots at the time. Luckily things have improved a bit these days & most brands have cottoned onto the fact that people want groom their brows to perfection. To be totally honest I don't think I'd ever give up my precious Anastasia products in favour of these but it's good to know that more makeup brands are starting to take brows seriously.

The Barry M Brow Kit comes complete with everything you need to groom & define your eyebrows. It contains a creamy brown wax, a dark brown powder, a highlighter, tweezers & a double ended applicator. It reminds me of Benefit Brow Zings with the added bonus of a highlight powder. The tweezers are okay for plucking one or two strays but I wouldn't shape your whole eyebrow with them. The brush is surprisingly good. Normally I automatically dismiss brushes in makeup kits but the angled side is perfect for shaping your brows with the tinted wax. After applying the wax you then use the blending brush to build up your brows with the dark powder. Both the wax & powder are very easy to work with. The trouble is this kit only comes in one shade which is horrendously dark & warm toned. I tried using the wax & powder alone as well as together but either way they look horrible on me. The highlight shade is incredibly subtle & I found it hard to get it show up on my skin. I wish there were a few other colours available as this has the potential to be a truly fantastic kit. Hopefully Barry M will bring out a few more versions soon.

I much prefer the Collection Eyebrow Kit. Instead of a wax & a highlight, it comes with three brow powders. Used alone none of the colours suit me but they can easily be mixed & matched to create your own custom brow shade. The colours lean slightly warm but they're nowhere near as red toned as the Barry M colours. The dark brown powder is extremely dark but the texture is creamy with absolutely no fallout. It's easy to achieve whatever eyebrow shape you desire with this kit as the formula of the powders is really lovely. I find that a mix of the light brown with a little bit of the medium brown shade works well for me. The angled brush is exactly the same as the one in the Barry M kit & applies the powders well. I love that the kit comes with it's own mini brow gel. The formula isn't the best at keeping stray hairs in place but the plastic brush helps to neaten up your brows by pushing everything in the right direction. It also includes a fab little mirror which is the exactly the right size for doing your brows.

If you've ever wanted to try the Anastasia DipBrow Pomades but don't want to shell out £15 when you have no idea which colour to get, then give the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Eyeshadow in Permanent Taupe a go. Everyone went mental for these last year so chances are you probably already have this in your stash. Not only is it a wonderful cream eyeshadow but applied with an angled brush it's a decent drugstore dupe for Anastasia Beverly Hills' most innovative product. The formula isn't quite as creamy or natural looking so a very light hand is needed here but otherwise it works in a fairly similar way. You can really sculpt your brows with this, creating a clean but bold look. The taupe colour is buildable & would work well for anyone with cool-toned medium or dark brown eyebrows.

About Me

Greetings & salutations. I'm Caroline, I'm 29 and originally from SE London. I currently live in Huddersfield with my daughter Chloe. I am a freelance graphic designer specialising in typography and layout for publication design. You can read more about me here.